Aleksandr Ugolev and his role in the development of modern digestive and nutritional physiology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1270-2025-6-4-367-374Keywords:
membrane digestion, nutrient absorption, intestinal hormonal system, evolutionary physiology, adequate nutritionAbstract
This article describes the principal research contributions of Academician Aleksandr M. Ugolev, an outstanding scientist who headed the Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology at the I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, from 1963 to 1991. We present an overview of his most significant investigations, which have enriched both Russian and global science. Ugolev achieved international recognition for his discovery of membrane digestion in 1958. This finding fundamentally revised prevailing concepts of digestive system function. He was the first to demonstrate the feasibility of studying nutrient hydrolysis and absorption in the small intestine under conditions approximating the physiological state. The resulting data radically transformed understanding of the rates of membrane hydrolysis and nutrient absorption in the small intestine. Among Ugolev’s scientific accomplishments, a special place is occupied by his research on the intestinal hormonal system and its non‑digestive effects. He devoted considerable attention to the evolutionary aspects of digestion and also formulated the foundational principles of his theory of adequate nutrition. In addition, Ugolev founded and, for more than two decades, chaired the academic school‑seminar Modern Problems of the Physiology and Pathology of Digestion.
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